Tag: First-Person Shooter

Game Changers: GoldenEye 007

GoldenEye 007 (Nintendo 64) (Rare, 1997)

Game Changers is a semi-regular column featuring games which have had a significant impact on me over the years. Games that were so incredibly stunning and awe-inspiring, they changed my conception of what a game could be at the time. Previously, I have written about Out Run, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Red Dead Redemption.

When the first-person shooters first rose to prominence, they were almost entirely non-existent anywhere besides the PC. Console controllers at the time simply weren't equipped to handle movement and aiming together in any kind of intuitive way. That all changed with Rare's 1997 smash hit, GoldenEye 007.

Rare made expert use of the uniquely designed Nintendo 64 controller when implementing the control scheme for the game. They utilized the brand new controller features like the analog joystiq, yellow C buttons, and gun-like Z trigger for more natural-feeling movement and shooting than had been possible before. The brilliance of their control scheme was that it worked so well with Nintendo's oddball controller. A device design that had previously left many fans scratching their heads suddenly made (some) sense. It seemed almost as if Nintendo had designed the controller for GoldenEye, and not the other way around. What's more is that for the first time, a game developer had successfully created an acceptable way to enjoy the wildly popular first-person shooter genre on a home game console.

While the first-person shooter control scheme may not have ultimately achieved perfection until 2001's Halo on the original Xbox, GoldenEye represented an absolutely crucial stepping stone along the path; basically, the only real stepping stone. The game opened up the world of first-person shooters to millions of people who only liked to play games on their television sets. The genius of this timeless classic cannot be overstated and the controls are only but one of the numerous reasons why.

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New Steam Store Releases: Call of Mushihimesama

It seems that this was a pretty big week on the Steam Store. Not only did the new Call of Duty hit, but also the renowned Arcade developer, CAVE, has made its Steam debut with their hit "bug princess" shooter, Mushihimesama (mooshee-heemay-sahmah). Additionally, SEGA graciously saw fit to bring over their previously Nintendo-exclusive Sonic the Hedgehog game, Sonic Lost World.

I don't know about you, but the CAVE news alone was enough to send me to gaming heaven (before their punishing shooter promptly sent me to bullet hell). Proceed further to see more of this week's new releases.

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New PlayStation Store Releases: CoD BlOps III

It's that time of year again. Time to write off that $120+ and God only knows how many hours you spent on last year's Call of Duty game and DLC. It's time to pop that disc out of your console and fling it frisbee style straight into the trash can (please don't actually do this). It's time to upgrade to this year's installment. Call of Duty: Black Ops III is arriving this Friday.

Also out this week, the next entry in the Need for Speed series (titled, you guessed it, "Need for Speed"), and an interesting-looking triple cross buy action RPG called Dragon Fin Soup. Mistakes were made. Proceed further to see more of this week's new releases.

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